FIG. 1 depicts an isometric drawing of a Swiss Quad antenna in the prior art. The Swiss Quad antenna of FIG. 1 comprises: mast 101, H-X support 103, H-X support 104, reflector 105 and director 106. The Swiss Quad antenna of FIG. 1 is advantageous because: (1) of the degree of its directivity, (2) its small Turning radius, (3) its lightweight but strong design, and (4) the fact that the two antenna elements, reflector 105 and director 106, can be electrically grounded to mast 101, using "plumber's delight construction." It is well known to those skilled in the art how to make and use Swiss Quad antenna 100. See "A 28-MHz Swiss Quad," The ARRL Antenna Book, The American Radio Relay League, pp. 12-7 to 12-9 (1994).
A Swiss Quad antenna has several disadvantages, however. First, H-X support 103 and H-X support 104 require a substantial amount of building materials and the builder must be meticulous during construction for the antenna to operate effectively. Second, a portion of both reflector 105 and director 106 are horizontal (the portions parallel with H-X support 103 and H-X support 104), which encourages ice-buildup on reflector 105 and director 106 in winter. Ice-buildup is disadvantageous because it reduces the effectiveness of the antenna. And third, a Swiss Quad antenna is very tedious to tune because each tuning step requires the removal of four vertical segments of reflector 105 and director 106 that are precisely the same length. In otherwords, a Swiss Quad is not robust to minor mistakes made in tuning the antenna.
Therefore, the need exists for an antenna that has the advantages of a Swiss Quad but that uses fewer building materials, that inhibits icing and that is easier to tune.